What People Are Saying About Prof Blood and the Wonder

Teams: The True Story of Basketball’s First Great Coach

The Coach's Notebook by Steve Jordan

The Coach's Notebook is proud to review

Prof Blood
and the Wonder Teams
The True Story of Basketball's First Great Coach

by Dr. Charles "Chic" Hess

foreword by P.J. Carlesimo
Dr. Charles "Chic" Hess
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to go back in time and experience the early days of
basketball? Prof Blood and the Wonder Teams takes you there. The story is meticulously researched,
complete with lineups, line scores, newspaper clippings and advertisements. As you pore through the
information, and add just a little reflection and imagination, it isn't hard to picture yourself in one of
those cramped little gyms with the backboards nailed flat against the walls, watching long-socked,
knee-padded players pass around that over-sized basketball.

It was fascinating to read about how these early games were structured and compare them to modern
basketball. Among other insights, you will gain an appreciation for how much rule changes have
changed the game for the better. For instance, every time a team scored, there was a center jump. Prof
Blood clearly understood the importance of that rule. Passaic High School teams had a tall, gifted
leaper who controlled these tips and Blood's teams executed well-rehearsed plays to take advantage of
them. Imagine yourself facing such a squad, unable to get the ball back after your opponent scored
again and again. No wonder the scores were so lopsided! Sometimes Passaic won by a hundred points
or more. Teams then were also able to designate one player to shoot all free throws. Rest assured that
Prof Blood's teams had such a specialist. Add these strategies to their well-developed passing game
and full court pressure defense and you can see how they were able to overwhelm the high school (and
some college) teams of their time.

Passaic High School brought national attention to their community as they built a 159 game winning
streak over the span of six seasons. With winning comes notoriety, however, and Prof Blood and his
team were forced to deal with both public pressures and internal political strife. Author Dr. Chic Hess
chronicles their journey with stories and box scores for each game. As you follow that course, you'll
witness another journey as well, and that is the maturation of the game of basketball during these years
as teams sought success by emulating Passaic's style of play.

It is inevitable that folks will compare Prof Blood with John Wooden, whose UCLA teams were
unbeatable for a time. This book, too, devotes a chapter to the many striking similarities between the
Blood and Wooden. I have read Wooden's books and have been inspired by his philosophies and have
studied his drills and strategies. I wish it were possible to also read first hand of Prof Blood's
philosophies and study his renowned passing game, but he passed away 49 years ago. I am grateful to
Dr. Chic Hess and his extensive research for bringing Coach Blood and his accomplishments back to
life, in a sense. A principled, disciplined and astute basketball figure, he certainly would have thrived
as a coach today.

Why not treat yourself to a trip into hoop history? No matter where you have played or coached, you'll
find some of your basketball roots reach all the way back to New Jersey. I whole-heartedly
recommend Prof Blood and the Wonder Teams for anyone interested in basketball or curious about
this dynamic period of our country's history.

Steve Jordan

Hardcover
Price: $29.95 (US)
464 pages
Case Bound,
ISBN: 0966445945

Paperback
Price: $21.95 (US)
464 pages
Paperback
ISBN: 0966445953

Prof Blood and the Wonder teams is available at

www.profblood.com

MICHAEL J. WELLS
VARSITY BOYS BASKETBALL COACH
ADMIRAL FARRAGUT ACADEMY
ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA

As a basketball coach who makes every attempt to be a student of the game, I have found
an excellent book to read that I would highly recommend to all basketball coaches. It is a
book about one of the most successful high school basketball coaches of all times. Let
me list some of the accomplishments and points of interest of this coach and his
basketball program:

• He directed his basketball program to 159 consecutive victories.

• His program put an emphasis on training boys to become men, not just to win
games. A special emphasis on playing the game with good sportsmanship.
• His teams shot the ball with great accuracy. He put much emphasis on practicing
shooting. He didn't care about form, as much as he cared about using a style of
shooting that felt natural to the athlete.
 • The coach was the first to use a passing game offense. He had his players move
in unison with the ball being moved quickly with short crisp passes. The use of
the dribble was used very minimally.
• His use of statistics such as shot charts was something new to the coaching field.
The charts provided valuable information at half time and led to strategic
adjustments.
• This coach used full court pressure when other programs were player quarter
court defenses. He would never play zone defense and only man to man defense.
• He believed in fast break basketball with a controlled quarter court offense.
• This coach had his players in great physical shape and emphasized hustle the
whole ball game.
• He developed a strong feeder program beginning down in the elementary schools.
Year in and year out new players were ready to replace graduating players.
• This program scored over 100 points in a game numerous times, during an era
when most teams never dreamed of scoring half that amount in a game.
• Thousands of fans would attend their games. Games would be sold out long in
advance, with standing room only crowds. Spectators would come from all over
just to see this program.
• His program would play anyone and anywhere. They would not back down to
any challenge.

The coach I am talking about is Ernest A. Blood. His career record was 1,268-165. No
one will equal his accomplishments. The kicker is this was done in the early 1920's. This
was a coach before his time. Dr. Charles "Chic" Hess brings us this great story of one of
the greats in the game of basketball. He does a great job researching and presenting the
facts on this unknown legend of a coach. Get this book now - read it and enjoy learning
about one of our first great coaches.

PROF BLOOD AND THE WONDER TEAMS by Dr. Charles "Chic" Hess
More information and ordering: www.profblood.com

Coach Wells, Group Moderator, www.coachwells.com

What People Are Saying About

Prof Blood and the Wonder Teams:
The True Story of Basketball’s First Great Coach
"Everyone who is a hoops fan certainly is aware of the Wizard of Westwood, John
Wooden, and his many achievements at UCLA. But not many are familiar with a New
Jersey Wizard and his Wonder Teams in Passaic, NJ, namely Professor Ernest Blood.
This text by Chic Hess is fascinating as it details Blood's brilliant accomplishments plus
his passion for the game. The research by Hess is mind boggling as he takes you on a
journey with the Wonder Team and its taskmaster, Professor Ernest Blood. A brilliant
story documented by many specific incidents which provides you a complete
understanding about how dominate this Passaic, NJ high school team was."
 Dick Vitale, basketball analyst for ESPN and ABC

“True basketball fans everywhere owe Dr. Chic Hess a great debt for bringing to light the
story on one of the sport's forgotten heroes. Just be warned: Once you start reading this,
you won't be able to put it down until you're finished.”

Harvey Zucker, The Jersey Journal

“The Professor Blood bio is a great read. Dr. Chic Hess, a basketball historian, has done
an excellent job of bringing to us the remarkable life of this great coach.”
Coach Bob Hurley
St. Anthony High School in Jersey City, NJ

“No history of basketball is complete without a major piece on Prof Ernest Blood and this
book provides it.”
Sid Dorfman, The Star-Ledger, Newark.

Out of context, the bare facts surrounding the coaching career of Professor Ernest Blood
are enough to fire up the imagination of any basketball fan. But when put in perspective,
Prof and his Wonder Teams from Passaic High School offer a fascinating peek into a
time when the game was just learning to crawl.

Prof Blood’s teams never crawled. For example, there was the night Thousand Point
Bobby Thompson scored his 1,000th point. "A hush fell over the armory as the ball made
its slow journey to the hoop," writes Hess. "As the ball filled the cylinder, the crowd
erupted. Hats and coats were thrown in the air. As women danced in the aisles, boys did
handsprings along courtside." The Wonder Teams frequently scored 100 points while
average teams scored in the 20s and 30s.

In Prof Blood and the Wonder Teams: The True Story of Basketball’s First Great Coach,
we get a thorough account that brings to life the legendary 159-game winning streak and
the obstacles Prof encountered maintaining it.
Bill Handleman, Asbury Park Press

“Blood’s Legend Lives On”

Herald News in New Jersey
By Jack De Vries

Chic Hess’ eyes burned, his stomach was empty, and his lanky body ached from sitting in front of
the microfilm machine all day. But he couldn’t stop. Hess was chasing a ghost—a legend
trapped in reels of old newsprint, flashing across the screen in front of him.

If only he could learn the entire story, Hess believed, he could tell the world about a forgotten
basketball genius—Ernest A. “Prof” Blood, leader of the Passaic High School “Wonder Team.”
“The more I learned,” says Hess, “the more fascinating Prof’s story became. It was about time
the sports community learned what took place.”

The result of Hess’ search is his first book, “Prof Blood and the Wonder Team: The True Story of
Basketball’s First Great Coach.”

His attraction to the Passaic coach began as a teenager after Hess read a 1959 story about the
Wonder Team—winners of 159 games in a row from 1919 to 1925. Hess, a basketball-playing
high school sophomore from Levittown, Pa., was stunned.

“It was tough to win a couple of games in a row,” he remembers thinking, “let alone 159.”

So began his obsession with Passaic’s incredible win streak and the coach behind it—one Hess
would carry through his entire adult life. After following Blood into the coaching ranks—which
only heightened his appreciation for the man—Hess began trailing him back through time,
learning more about Blood in libraries across the country.

When he retired from his 25-year coaching career, he began hunting Blood’s story in earnest—
even traveling from his Hawaii home to Passaic where it all began.

Older local residents know of Blood—the short, stocky, bear-wrestling coach, who elevated
Passaic into the center of the basketball universe during the Roaring Twenties. Most remember
his stars, players like Johnny Roosma, Bobby Thompson, and Fritz Knothe, powering a squad
that beat all comers, including college teams.

But none, Hess feels,( knows )the entire story. “It’s been lost in history,” he says, “until now.”

Hess’ story of Blood is chronicled through the Wonder Team’s streak, complete with
game accounts leading up to and following each contest. He also details the
controversy that led to coach’s resignation and the end of a basketball era—but not
before Blood gave birth to the fast-paced style of play later know as “East Coast
basketball.”

“Blood was known as a ‘scientific coach,’” Hess says. “He did things that put him generation
ahead of his time, as far as training methods, offense, defense, fast breaking, and the full-court
press. He believed in five people working together, always knowing where the other one was.

“And he believed in the pass—his players didn’t dribble the ball much.”

Blood’s basketball lessons were absorbed by many.

“The great coach Clair Bee came to watch Blood’s team,” Hess says. “So did Frank Keaney, who
created his ‘point-a-minute’ teams at Rhode Island. Buck Freeman played against Blood’s West
Point team and saw how he controlled the game with the pass. Later, he used that same style
when coaching his St. John’s ‘Wonder Five.’”

Beyond his incredible record at Passaic, Hess’ book explores Blood’s soul.

“He trained boys to be men, not basketball players,” Hess says. “Winning was incidental and the
by-product of everything he did. Losing was never an issue. If it happened, Blood considered it
a learning experience.”
Blood himself was an amazing athlete—an excellent gymnast, fencer, wrestler, and
football and baseball player—with a passion for physical fitness. On his 64th birthday,
Hess tells, Blood did back handsprings across the gym floor at St. Benedict’s Prep
during an assembly held in his honor.

“He didn’t emphasize conditioning like we would today,” Hess says, “but more so than other
teams. His players would not smoke or break training. Blood would say, ‘We don’t work on
conditioning, we work on living clean.’”

What also struck Hess was the coach’s passion for sportsmanship.

“Teams that lost to Passaic,” says Hess, “said Blood’s players’ demeanor was impeccable and
they were well treated by Passaic fans. Once or twice, Blood stopped a game to chastise the
home crowd, saying, ‘We don’t do this here.’”

It’s easy to see why the author feels a kinship with Blood.

A self-described recovering basketball addict, Hess began as a player for Bishop Egan High
School and played his college ball at Trenton Junior College and East Stroudsburg University.
He later coached at Pennsylvania’s Medill Bair School, Loyalsock Township High, and Lebanon
High, leading the school to the 1978 state finals behind future NBA player Sam Bowie.

Hess made the jump to Brigham Young University-Hawaii as an assistant in 1983 and
became head coach in 1987 through 1990. He also coached at Columbia Basin College
and Arizona Western College. During his career, he amassed a 230-81 high school
coaching record and earned numerous coaching honors, including the NABC-Kodak
Junior College Coach of the Year.

But wherever life took him, his mind always drifted back to Blood and his Wonder Team.

“In mid-1980s as I studied for my doctorate,” he recalls, “I lived in libraries. I’d get
sidetracked and begin looking up information on Blood.”

Hess started writing to the children of the Wonder Team players, gathering information from old
scrapbooks and photos. He later traveled to Burlington, Vt., to meet Blood’s son Ben—even
seeing the pelt of Blood’s pet bear cub Zep, the Wonder Team’s mascot.

However, it was his journeys to the Passaic Public Library that yielded the most information.

“Each time, I set aside two weeks for my trip,” Hess says, “and each time, I ended up extending
my stay by a few days. I’d be there from when they opened at 9 a.m. until they closed. I lost
about 15 pounds each trip because I never took a break to eat.”

After every visit, Hess would lug pounds of copies of newspaper stories back to Hawaii.

“Chic’s book is a labor of love,” says Passaic reference librarian Jean Ellis. “He spent an awful
lot of time here, pouring over the old newspapers stored on microfilm, which is a horrendous job.
He is also very concerned about accuracy, often e-mailing us to check a headline or statistic. And
this has been going on for the last four or five years.”
Finally satisfied that he had gathered all the material he needed, Hess was ready to
write his story. The trouble was he had never written a biography. He called Leon Edel,
a Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer of author Henry James, for advice.

“I called on a whim,” Hess says. “When I asked him how to write a biography, Leon said, ‘Know
your material and then sit down without your notes and write your story.’”

And that’s what Hess did, giving readers a look at one of the most incredible runs in sports
history. Along with the streak, Hess also details the struggle for power at Passaic High between
Blood and principal Arnold D. Arnold—a man who saw basketball as a distraction and
undermining education.

Hess writes of their feud that blasted across the headlines of the competing Passaic Daily Herald
and Passaic Daily News—with each newspaper taking sides. Hess even ventures a theory that the
Herald’s anti-Blood position might be attributed to the benching of the publisher’s son, Dow
Drukker, during the streak.

“When the controversy started,” Hess said, “it was like North against the South, with the Herald,
Arnold, and the Board of Education lining up against the Daily News, Blood and the rest of the
city.

But what Hess hopes readers ultimately will take from his book is the story of a lost basketball
giant.

“Blood moved on after his resignation,” Hess says, “coaching at St. Benedict’s Prep and West
Point. But he never left Passaic. He continued to live at his home at 31 Spring St.” until he
retired in 1949.

With his book, Hess has made sure Blood will never leave Passaic again.

“Prof Blood and the Wonder Team: The True Story of Basketball’s First Great Coach” by Dr.
Chic Hess, published by Newark Abbey Press, is available by calling (800) 247-6553,
www.profblood.com or through local bookstores.
Charles "Chic" Hess, Ed. D.
665 North Kalaheo Avenue
Kailua, HI 96734
chichess@hawaii.rr.com
www.profblood.com